Cancer Support Online

[01 Sep 2008]Gratitude

Every few years we revisit 'Gratitude' as a theme in Wellness magazine. This is because cultivating an Attitude of Gratitude is absolutely essential to success on a healing journey. As Max Strom says 'gratitude humbles us' -- and it is with the attitude of humility we are able to truly be thankful for the life we have, recognise and appreciate the blessings and gifts that each experience presents us with and graciously accept Life As It Is. Rather than continually wanting more, we become happy to Just Be. This inner contentment sets the stage for the healing process to unfold within us.
Cultivating an Attitude of Gratitude sounds simple -- until we come up against our minds and its latent beliefs, powerful emotions and continual desires! The key is self-understanding -- to look within objectively and compassionately observe the play of the mind, then take a deep breath, reassure ourselves we are okay, and then let go of our need for any particular outcome.
Imagine a life where you have never loved deeply or been loved. Imagine the emptiness of skimming the surfaces of relationships and never really immersing yourself in knowing and loving others.
Now remember your mother's smiling face or your partner’s loving embrace, a friend's care and concern, or the sound of your small child's laughter -- and feel gladness and gratitude in your heart for the people and experiences which have defined your life and made it precious.
The risk we take when we live life fully and love others deeply is that one day, whoever we are and whatever our circumstances, we will no longer have the someone or something we loved the most.
Perhaps you have lost the someone or something you loved the most, or you feel life has treated you badly, and as a result your heart is contracted to protect you from further pain.
Whoever we are, whatever our circumstances, love and loss are an inescapable fact of life. To accept Life As It Is regardless of what we have or don't have, and to cultivate Gratitude is a spiritual practice, helping us shift our awareness from what we believe we Lack in our lives to the Abundance we do have.
Starting with just one small thing to be grateful for every day can lead to many great things, many great realisations and the alleviation
of pain, disappointment and disillusionment. We literally become enlightened as our hearts fill with gratitude and we become attuned to what a precious gift Life really is.
~ Mandy

[01 Aug 2008]Life is Joy!

Throughout history humans have been fascinated and inspired by dolphins and even bestowed mystical significance upon them. After visiting the Monkey Mia dolphins on Western Australia's Gascoyne Coast I can see why! These lovely, graceful, playful creatures are also the greatest of teachers...they teach us that Life is Joy! We can argue that our life is a serious matter, that there is not always time or room to be joyful, but dolphins remind us to go about life with an attitude of joyfulness, regardless of the task at hand. For them, tasks which we may consider tedious-- such as repeatedly feeding our children -- are a perpetual source of fun.

Dolphins seem at once ancient and wise with their big soulful eyes and 'knowingness'...yet also youthful and playful leaping into the air for the sheer joy of it! When they appear to humans they make an effort to communicate. They roll onto their sides and gaze into your eyes with a slightly wry smile. In those moments when the dolphin's gaze meets yours there is an exchange of love and joy and wonder. They embody these qualities and as it is with the greatest spiritual masters, just being in their presence awakens these qualities within us!

Is it really necessary to take life so seriously? Why not be more like the dolphin -- and work hard, love deeply, but not forget to play! Scientists call adult playfulness 'neotony'. Dolphins rank very high on the scale of neotony. They play nearly all the time. From dolphins we learn that to access our wisdom or 'intuition' we need to act less like adults and play more like children!

[01 Jul 2008]Subtle Healing

The theme of July 2008 Wellness magazine is 'energy and subtle healing'. My research on this subject lead me to the book 'Joy's Way: A Map for the Transformational Journey' by W. Brugh Joy, MD which explores the subtle realms of human consciousness and the importance of integration of the body, mind and soul when healing from serious illnesses such as cancer. Joy emphasises the importance of attuning oneself to the Soul's purpose through meditation and dreamwork, and making some deep and fundamental changes to the way we think, feel, believe and even the way we go about our lives in order to align ourselves with the Soul and shift the direction of the illness towards healing. The simple wisdom in Joy's Way and in some of the other articles published in July's Wellness magazine have resonated deeply with me and given a renewed sense of direction and purpose in my work and life in general. I recommend this book to anyone on a deep healing journey, particularly if you haven't before questioned the integrity of your beliefs, motivations and lifestyle and are ready to do so. Healing from serious illness can literally depend on understanding and accepting all facets of your Being. It is reassuring that there are many wise Souls who have walked this path before us, and continue to offer us guidance and direction to help us on our way through their teachings, writings and presence.
Love and Peace,
Mandy

[01 Jun 2008]HAPPINESS

While thinking about Wellness magazine's June theme of 'Happiness' a lot of questions arise. For example, is it ethical to even consider our own happiness when others in the world are starving and homeless or grieving in the aftermath of recent world disasters? Is it selfish to wish for personal happiness and fulfilment at all? Do I deserve to be happy when so many others are not? What does happiness depend on? Do I sabotage my happiness by thinking negatively? Why would I want to be happy when I get so much attention from others when I am suffering and need help? These questions and their answers are fundamental to anyone on a healing journey. The questions we ask of Life and the answers we give are largely based on personal and cultural beliefs and reveal something of our heritage and sense of self-worth. Our health, wellbeing and quality of life are inextricably implicated in our answers. Each of us is equally entitled to happiness, and, importantly, our personal happiness is never actually at the expense of anybody else. In fact, when we are happy we have a greater capacity for compassion and helping others. With insight we may come to see that real and lasting happiness is not dependent upon circumstances, but rather the way we view and respond to circumstances. In this issue we explore this theme and look at what has been said about happiness, positivity, health and healing outcomes. Many world religions and modern psychologists agree that happiness is a state of mind...what do you think?
~ Mandy

[02 May 2008]Any ideas?

Politically this is an exciting time in Australia with a change of government with fresh ideas...the best one being the recent 20/20 Summit inviting Australians from different disciplines to brainstorm ideas to shape a blueprint for Australia’s future!
Cancer Support Association is also going through a period of positive change and growth. We’ve expanded and improved Wellness magazine to make it more visually appealing and accessible to more people. We’re in the process of redesigning our website to keep it attractive, user friendly, relevant and world-class! Wellness New Online, which is the electronic version of this magazine is emailed all over the world to our ever-increasing online membership base. We’re also planning new and exciting fundraising events including: CSA Challenge Week during October 25th to November 2nd; CSA Wellness and Healing day for early next year (we’ll need lots of volunteers to help on this day!); and the Monte Carlo night at Burswood later this year which is a collaboration between Cancer Support Association, Camp Quality and Youthfocus. It is to be a black tie affair with lots of entertainment. Keep an eye on the Events pages on this website for more details...
We would also like to hear your ideas! If you have some suggestions on how we can improve our publications and online services, or increase our funds, we’d love to hear from you! Please submit your ideas by emailing the Editor at csa_wellnessnews@yahoo.com.au. Thankyou.

[01 Apr 2008]Eating for Healing

The seasons are changing in Perth from the warm, windy summer months to cool Autumn mornings and cold southerly winds. The transistion between seasons is a time when many people get sick with colds and flus, and we need to think about fortifying our immune systems. We may also need to adjust our diet to reflect our body's changing seasonal requirements.
This month's Wellness magazine and newsletter focuses on food and its effect on wellbeing, health, disease prevention and cure.
While most people interested in wellness and healing make an effort to eat well, we usually do so within our society’s paradigm of healthy eating. New research shows that it is the staple foods we depend on which may have contributed to disease in the first place and a complete change of diet may be necessary to heal and be well.
Making any changes to our daily routine needs to be done gradually, gently and compassionately to be sustainable and long-term. Alternatively, some time away on a healing retreat may be what is needed to motivate change.
Enjoy this month's publications, it is our hope you get inspired to eat well and be well...
Joy and peace to you,
Mandy

[01 Mar 2008]A journey of insight and healing

Dear members and friends,
Just recently I met someone who has experienced a personal tragedy and is overwhelmed by pain and a sense of loss. She said it is hard to maintain a reason to go on living. After listening to her story and sharing for just a few moments the burden of her pain, I thought of a profound lesson from my recent trip to India...
We all have different reasons for travelling, but for me there is only really one reason to travel to India -- to gain insights, develop compassion and tolerance, and evolve! It is possible for this to happen at home, but stepping outside the everyday routine of homelife accelerates the process. And when we’re away, on a pilgrimage, or a healing journey, there is a clear intention to evolve and deepen our understanding of the life experience, to be at peace, or to be well.
For me, the Himalayas and the people of the Himalayas are great teachers. The mountains are a wonder of nature...beautiful, soaring, arid, snow covered peaks seen at icy dawn from the misty hills of Sikkim...and the local people naturally embody the qualities of the mountains. The Sikkimese are serene, peaceful, patient, joyful and expansive (there is a 0% crime rate in Sikkim!). Just being in the mountains and a part of that world for a short while reminds me of who I am, who I want to be, and what is truly important in life.
Sikkim is an independent Indian state in the eastern Himalaya, and is home to ancient Buddhist monasteries including Pemyagentse Monastery located on a serene and breezy hilltop with a panorama of Mount Kanchenjunga and the Himalayan peaks. We visited Pemyagentse and were greeted warmly by the main Lama who kindly gave an impromptu talk on the history of Tibetan Buddhism, and pointed out that the invasion of Tibet and annihilation of Tibetan culture and spirituality by the Chinese was foreseen by a wise Lama many centuries before who advised the people to shift Buddhism to Sikkim. This happened on a small scale and the monasteries established in Sikkim at that time have been preserved.
We asked the Lama how he personally feels about Tibet. He replied that for a long time he was deeply sad, displaced, and unable to 'digest' the situation, but in recent years he has found peace because he has now 'fully digested' what happened to him and his fellow refugees. This only happened after he shifted his focus from his own pain and cultural identity, to the pain and point of view of the perpetrators and the world at large. By doing this as a spiritual practice he was able to internally heal, and eventually feel compassion for the invaders and accept or 'digest' the suffering without pushing it away.
The Lama went on to say that some suffering in life is inevitable, but by developing inner skills and insight we can transform pain into compassion, love and be at peace with ourselves and the world around us -- even in the midst of difficulty or tragedy. Just as the invasion of Tibet was foreseen, with insight we can look into our own future, take some steps to direct our lives in a positive and beneficial direction, and prepare ourselves emotionally and spiritually for whatever is to come.
I hope you look through the March 2008 Wellness magazine and find there the inspiration to embark on a journey -- perhaps an inner journey of insight and healing, or an external journey to a place which brings you peace and understanding.
Joy and peace,
~ Mandy

[01 Feb 2008]A new year wish for everyone

This has been a time of great adventure for me. I left behind my family, my little children, my work and returned to India for 3 weeks . India is very close to my heart and I'd carefully planned this pilgrimage to the mystical Himalayas followed by yoga intensives in Hyderabad and Chennai with some of the greatest living yoga masters.
My schedule included long days beginning at 3:30am for early morning meditation followed by the most amazing sunrises (to my great surprise the Himalayan peaks lit up one by one as the sun rose). Days were full with travel and learning and yoga and spectacular landscapes and new friends – I didn’t have a spare moment to long for those that I had left behind.
Because I knew my time in this country was finite and it could be many years before I return, I consciously made the most of every moment – I noticed everything, I felt everything, I savoured each experience, good and bad, as if it were the most precious gift. It wasn’t all pleasant, and not everything I saw was pretty – but this is the nature of life, and the gift of life is something to be truly thankful for.
I am home now and my journey to India already seems dreamlike and distant, but that place and those experiences are now a part of who I am, and India has become a metaphor for my life. My time there was short but I didn’t waste a moment, and it seemed as if a lifetime was spent. In the same way a whole lifetime passes – the timespan may be longer but still, each moment is precious, and can never be repeated.
I will continue to live my life as if it were an adventure – regardless of how mundane my schedule may be – each moment is still somehow very special. From experience I know that this attitude of joy and appreciation has the potential to inwardly transform my life!
I have one wish for the new year – that all people can enjoy the gift of life. Nobody’s life is ‘perfect’, all of us suffer, but life is filled with many blessings, and all that is required is the willingness to see them, to savour them, and appreciate them! And when we are happy, and wish happiness on others the world truly becomes a happier place!
~ Mandy

[20 Dec 2007]The Season of Gratitude

In the frenzy of buying, consuming and trying to please those around us we can sometimes forget the sacredness of Christmas. The joy is in the tradition of remembering and respecting our Christian heritage, in the giving, sharing, and in the just 'being' with those we love. It is a time to be grateful for the many gifts we have already received in our life, the gifts of family, friendship, of life itself.
The most sacred and special presents I have ever received are those small things given from the heart. For example when my little son was three years old he felt overwhelmed with the desire to give something. But not having any tangible present to give, and knowing how much I love yoga, he gave an impromptu demonstration of some of my favourite poses. It was the funniest and most touching present I have received, and I'll never forget it! Whatever our circumstances, the mere fact that we are here, that we have a body, a mind, a heart, and are able to have such experiences is a blessing in itself. The most important words we can say this Christmas are 'thank you!.
Please enjoy looking through our magazine and newsletter archives, and note the next issue will be published in February 2008. And, enjoy this season of 'gratitude' with those that are dear to your heart.
Joy and peace,
Mandy